Pronunciation of Ñ

Start first lesson

1. Lesson 1

18 questions

2. Lesson 2

12 questions

3. Lesson 3

13 questions

Explanation

Quick Answer

The letter ñin Spanish represents a sound that is not used in English.

It is very similar to the sound of the letter group gn in words of Italian origin, such as lasagna, or nh in words of Portuguese origin, such as caipirinha. Compare the sound of gn and nh in those two words with the ñ in their Spanish translations, lasañaand caipiriña.

The Sound of the Letter “Ñ”

“Ñ” Is a Consonant

The letter ñ represents the Spanish consonant sound, or phoneme, /ɲ/. When a consonant sound is uttered, the flow of air out of the mouth is partially or completely blocked at some point.

The name of this letter is pronounced eñe.

How to Pronounce "Ñ" in Spanish

The Spanish ñ is palatal, which means it is pronounced by placing the tongue flat against the roof of the mouth. This causes the air to come out of the nose instead of the mouth.

Additionally, the vocal cords vibrate when uttering ñ, so linguists classify it as voiced, or sonorain Spanish. Check out how the ñ is pronounced in these words: ñato(snub-nosed), niño(child), año(year), mañana(tomorrow), and dueño(owner).

Is the Spanish "Ñ" Similar to the English Letter Group "NY"?

It’s close, but not the same! The English letter group ny, as in canyon, is often uttered in two separate syllables. In this case, the n is the end of one syllable and the y is the start of the next syllable, whereas the Spanish ñ is a single nasal sound. Compare canyon with its Spanish translation cañón.

"Ñ" is Not the End!

You will never find the letter ñ at the end of a word or syllable. It’s placed at the beginning of a word or, more commonly, at the beginning of a syllable and between vowels.

Examples

Let’s look at some examples of words containing the letter ñ in different word positions and letter combinations.

Spanish	English	Position-Combination
ñame	yam	beginning of word + vowel
ñandú	rhea	beginning of word + vowel
ñeque	strength	beginning of word + vowel
ñoqui	gnocchi	beginning of word + vowel
ñu	wildebeest	beginning of word + vowel
cumpleaños	birthday	inside word + between vowels
leña	firewood	inside word + between vowels
viñedo	vineyard	inside word + between vowels
cañería	pipe	inside word + beginning of syllable
español	Spanish	inside word + beginning of syllable
paño	cloth	inside word + beginning of syllable

One Letter, One Sound

The pronunciation of the letter ñ doesn’t vary much throughout the Spanish-speaking world, so there shouldn’t be much difference between the way ñoño(dull) sounds in Tijuana, Valparaiso, or Barranquilla.